Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Russian Oligarch - No Short-term Consequences from Sanctions Yet / Politics / Russia
By: Bloomberg
In a Bloomberg Television interview with Ryan Chilcote in St. Petersburg today, Russian oligarch and Severstal CEO Alexey Mordashov said he has 'no pressure' in U.S. or Russia to dispose of assets and has not seen any short-term consequences from sanctions yet. Mordashov told Bloomberg’s Chilcote he is 'quite optimistic' on interest shown for U.S. assets.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Media reports costs of living rises as Good News! / Politics / Inflation
By: Jonathan_Davis
Some quotes from the BBC article – which no doubt – were repeated throughout the country all day and night yesterday:
“Food sales during the late Easter holiday made a significant contribution to the overall figure, the ONS said.
They were 6.3% higher in April against a year earlier”
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Wednesday, May 21, 2014
How Central Banks Are Waging War on Your Savings / Politics / Central Banks
By: Mark_Thornton
Martin Wolf is the chief economics commentator at the influential Financial Times. He has received numerous honorary awards, positions, and degrees. My first knowledge of him came from a friend who had attended a lecture where Mr. Wolf mentioned that the best research on real estate economics was being done in Auburn, Alabama. I was quite shocked that Mr. Wolf was following our work here at the Mises Institute.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Russia's Weakened Hand Could Pay Off For Beijing In Major Gas Deal / Politics / Natural Gas
By: OilPrice_Com
A major gas deal between Russia and China could finally be sealed this week when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits China on May 20-21 and meets with President Xi Jinping. In the lead up to Putin's arrival, the two sides have been working on putting the finishing touches on a 30-year contract for a gas deal a decade in the making, and Russian officials have suggested that the deal will be completed by Putin's arrival.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Modi And India Election - The Rotten Is Thrown Out: Lessons For Narendra Modi And His BJP / Politics / India
By: Dr_R_M_Mathew
Congress Legacy
Indian National Congress Party, though assumed different names, has the great legacy both in the pre-and post-independent era of India. Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, as the Congress Prime Ministers, adopted pro-poor stands while building up heavy industries and infrastructure under public sector or the direct control of the Government. Immediately after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the Congress Party made her son, Rajive Gandhi as the Prime Minister of India. He modernized India bringing IT and Telecommunication Revolutions even in the remotest villages in India.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
As The Cold War Returns, Russia Turns East / Politics / Russia
By: Money_Morning
Tonight I am a guest again on Chinese national TV. I’ll be appearing live via satellite from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and we’ll be discussing the crisis in Ukraine.
This time, however, we’ll be talking directly about energy.
With a new Cold War mentality returning to Europe, China is now about to take center stage in Moscow’s export strategy. The Kremlin has turned its attention to the East.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Banking Buffoonery, Modeling Mysticism and Why Paul Krugman Should Be Sweatin’ Bullets / Politics / Economic Theory
By: F_F_Wiley
We have a few things to say about the recent debunking of established monetary theories.
In case you missed it, the Bank of England issued a report in March explaining that standard textbooks get money and banking all wrong.
The authors point out that banks don’t wait for deposits before making loans, as often claimed by academics. It’s the other way around. Banks create new deposits when loans are made, for this is how loan proceeds are delivered to the ultimate recipients. The fact that deposits then slosh around from bank to bank has no bearing on future loan issuance, which is always matched with newly-created, not old, deposits.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
The General Theory Of Unknowing / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Andrew_McKillop
The Project
I am presently developing and testing the several hypotheses structuring this theory, which at present is only at the descriptive, not predictive stage. I am actively seeking research collaborators and funding to continue the works needed to achieve a defined theory with possible predictive capabilities. The theory concerns a wide range of disciplines, ranging from semantics, information and general systems theory, to economics and finance, political science, geopolitical and military studies, sociology, ethics and philosophy, social anthropology, and the general history of western civilization. Other disciplines are certainly concerned, notably the theory of governance and government.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Balcerowicz’s Polish Big Bang versus Ukraine / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Steve_H_Hanke
On May 21, 2014, Leszek Balcerowicz will receive the 2014 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty during a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The prestigious annual award by the Cato Institute carries with it a well-deserved check for $250,000.
For those who might have forgotten the accomplishments of my long-time friend, allow me to suggest that, in Balcerowicz’s case, a picture is literally worth a thousand words.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Russia Borderlands: Room for Maneuvering in Hungary / Politics / Eastern Europe
By: STRATFOR
I am writing this from Budapest, the city in which I was born. I went to the United States so young that all my memories of Hungary were acquired later in life or through my family, whose memories bridged both world wars and the Cold War, all with their attendant horrors. My own deepest memory of Hungary comes from my parents' living room in the Bronx. My older sister was married in November 1956. There was an uprising against the Soviets at the same time, and many of our family members were still there. After the wedding, we returned home and saw the early newspapers and reports on television. My parents discovered that some of the heaviest fighting between the revolutionaries and Soviets had taken place on the street where my aunts lived. A joyous marriage, followed by another catastrophe -- the contrast between America and Hungary. That night, my father asked no one in particular, "Does it ever end?" The answer is no, not here. Which is why I am back in Budapest.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Smoking Gun From The U.S. Federal Reserve - Murder Of The Middle Class / Politics / Social Issues
By: James_Quinn
“Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.” - Ben Bernanke
“The true measure of a career is to be able to be content, even proud, that you succeeded through your own endeavors without leaving a trail of casualties in your wake.” – Alan Greenspan
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
Operation American Spring Fails To Restore the Republic / Politics / US Politics
By: Jeff_Berwick
Christopher Cantwell writes: Suppose I said to you “Let’s get 10-30 million people to go down to Washington DC and force Barack Obama out of office!” What would you say? Might sound like a great idea at first, until you realize that I lack the capacity to organize millions of people to travel to the nation’s capitol on a workday. Especially when I predict people will wind up dead and in prison, it’s not exactly the most appealing thing for people to hire babysitters for.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
How the Free Market Ends Discrimination / Politics / Economic Theory
By: Thomas_J_DiLorenzo
When Branch Rickey integrated major league baseball in 1947 by hiring the great Jackie Robinson to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he did not do so because he was forced into it by any “civil rights” law. The federal civil rights laws at that point were almost twenty years into the future. Nor was he motivated by a sudden enlightenment on the issue of race. As the president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Rickey was paid to make the Dodgers as profitable as possible. In order to do that, he had to recruit and develop the best baseball players he could find, regardless of skin color or anything else. He succeeded immediately with the hiring of Robinson, as the Dodgers went to the World Series in that year, in no small part due to the efforts of Jackie Robinson.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
How Edward Snowden Strengthened the NSA / Politics / Intelligence Agencies
By: Gary_North
It has been a year since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA.
I appreciate what Snowden did. His decision to leak the stolen documents has done the conservative movement an enormous favor. It has blown to smithereens the greatest single myth of conservatism: “If the American people knew about this, there would be an uprising.” No, there wouldn’t.
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Saturday, May 17, 2014
Mainstream Press Amazingly Deceptive Headline on U.S. Debt / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: John_Rubino
Reporters and their editors (and the corporations that employ them) have the power to shape readers’ perceptions by, for instance, choosing what fact to put first in a story or which expert to quote in what context. But the most powerful tool is the simplest: the headline. Because many people read only that, and many others have their perception of an article shaped by the first words they see, this sentence fragment is frequently as important as everything that comes after.
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Friday, May 16, 2014
The Fall of Mainstream Media - When Propaganda Fails, Humanity Awakens... / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Jeff_Berwick
It doesn't happen often, but The New York Times (NYT) has truthfully reported on something recently.
On what did it report? Well, on itself, and how alarmed it is due to its own increasing irrelevance in the face of new sources of information.
NYT is well-aware of the "New Media," as a 96-page internal report, sent to top executives last month, makes clear. Obtained by Buzzfeed, the report "paints a dark picture of a newsroom struggling more dramatically than is immediately visible to adjust to the digital world, a newsroom that is hampered primarily by its own storied culture."
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Friday, May 16, 2014
Europe Imitates The Fall Of The Roman Empire / Politics / European Union
By: Raul_I_Meijer
In essence, it’s really simple. We’ve seen over the last few days that the European Union is a federation of sovereign countries whose leadership has been found painfully – if not criminally – lacking in democratic principles, and several leaders of member states have been accomplices, on more than one occasion, in assaults on elected fellow leaders. That should say enough, and there is no doubt that down the line it will. It’s now a question of how do we get here from there, of how will Brussels be dismantled.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
High Tide for the U.S. Dollar: Revenge of the Sith / Politics / US Dollar
By: Jesse
I have certainly considered this scenario many times, of how the dollar regime might evolve, and the one discussed below remains one possible outcome.
There is an intense international discussion going on about the future of the international currency system, and relations in general. I have referred to this generally as the 'currency wars' for some time.
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Are Russia and China About To Announce The End Of The US Dollar Era? / Politics / US Dollar
By: Jeff_Berwick
Countries all over the world are meeting for a purpose that concerns you greatly, whether or not you're American: disuse of the US dollar.
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis the end of the US dollar seems closer than ever. In move-after-move, Russia and China have become closer allies. There are numerous examples of this. For brevity's sake, two recent examples catch the eye. Gazprom issued bonds in the Chinese Yuan and Russia and China also signed a gas deal. There are many more examples. 40 central banks have even placed bets on the yuan as the future reserve currency.
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Thursday, May 15, 2014
U.S. Mainstream Media Ignores Putin’s Peace Plan / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Mike_Whitney
“Let me repeat again, that in Russia’s view, the blame for the crisis in Ukraine lies with those who organized the coup d’etat in Kiev on February 22-23… But whatever the case, we must look for a way to solve the situation as it is today….And, as I said, what is needed is direct, full-fledged and equal dialogue between the Kiev authorities and the representatives of people in southeast Ukraine….I don’t know whether a Geneva-2 round of talks.. is realistic. (But) I believe that if we want to find a long-term solution to the crisis, there must be an open, honest and equal dialogue . That is our only option.” -Russian President Vladimir Putin, press statement, OCSE meeting, Moscow, May 7, 2014